A PROFESSIONAL shoplifter who snatched thousands of pounds worth of jewellery from a Middlesbrough store has failed to convince top judges his jail term should be cut.

A PROFESSIONAL shoplifter who snatched thousands of pounds worth of jewellery from a Middlesbrough store has failed to convince top judges his jail term should be cut.

Light-fingered Patrick Skeels, 30, was jailed for two and a half years in September, 2012 after pilfering almost £20,000 of jewels from Pandora stores across the North-east.

Three of the UK’s most senior judges have now rejected a challenge by Skeels against his sentence, saying his “sophisticated” thefts and late guilty plea meant his punishment must stand.

Lord Justice Moore-Bick said Skeels drove to the North-east from Hampshire with two men on February 12 last year with the sole purpose of snatching valuable items.

Skeels and one of his fellow thieves stole two bracelets, worth more than £5,700 in total, from Pandora’s Middlesbrough branch.

Earlier in the day the gang had struck the Pandora store in Eldon Square, Newcastle.

The judge said: “Just before midday the staff in the shop discovered the men had managed to open a display cabinet and remove a charm bracelet worth over £6,500.”

Skeels then headed to Sunderland with one of his fellow thieves, where they repeated the trick at the Pandora store in the Bridges shopping centre, grabbing two bracelets worth £7,000 in total. The pair then headed to Middlesbrough.

The trio were identified by CCTV footage and Skeels was arrested in April, last year. He had more than 30 previous convictions for 68 offences, most of them theft, Lord Justice Moore-Bick said.

Skeels ultimately admitted the three counts of theft, but only after the prosecution had disclosed the CCTV footage.

On appeal, Skeels’ barrister said he felt a “lingering sense of unfairness” after the sentencing judge gave him only one-sixth discount for his guilty plea, arguing the final sentence was too long.

But the appeal judge, sitting with Mr Justice Sweeney and Mr Justice Leggatt, said Skeels could have earned a larger cut by admitting the offences at the first opportunity.

He concluded: “In truth, it seems to us that he delayed for tactical reasons, to see the quality of the prosecution’s evidence before deciding what course to take.

“In the event, the sentencing judge gave Skeels one-sixth credit for his plea, which he had entered after the case had been listed for trial.

“The sentencing judge might have been more generous, but probably not much more generous, than that. The discounts fell within the scope of his discretion and, in the event, we do not think the sentence could be described as manifestly excessive.